The Aftershock
by Salvatore Shan NW
Summary: It's the night of the Summer Solstice, and the guys are leaving the clearing when something goes wrong and Bonnie's not there to help. With Damon at her side, the two go to find out what happened, but is it more than an alliance is it love?
1. The Clearing

**The Aftershock  
****(Summer Solstice)  
****1**

One thing I will say - I own no one in this story apart from Neve and a bunch of other extras. The only place I own is the airport and last but not least, the plot is mine but it isn't true! (Well, of course none of its true, but the thing about Meredith in later chapters… it isn't part of the story, it's just my imagination!)

Thanks to all the people who like my Vampire Diaries and The Night World stories, especially those who reviewed and have me on their 'Favourite Authors' list. This story is for you, guys! And also I want to show that I can still kick butts when it comes to vampires – they're my life, after all! Hope you like this! R &R! Later!

**The Clearing**

Bonnie flopped down onto the floor, her head swooning as her vision span. She'd never felt so happy in her whole life. Elena was in the arms of Stefan with Meredith's arms wrapped around her and Matt was holding Caroline. Bonnie was still spinning in her excitement, dizzy after so much dancing. Meredith took one look at her and knew she was about to be sick.  
"Bonnie, you'd better go home." She told her, going over to help her up. Bonnie brushed her curls out of her face and giggled.  
"Are you crazy? I'm not going to be able to go to _sleep_ tonight!" she laughed, hugging Meredith hard. The taller girl's face creased into a smile, and she pulled Bonnie up to her full height.  
Matt looked about and frowned. "It's getting late. We should all be home by now." He told them.  
Elena sighed and clung onto Stefan tighter. "But where do _I_ go?" she whispered, looking around. Caroline bit her lip in thought and so did the others (except Stefan, who just smiled.)  
"You can come back to the boarding house with me," he said. Elena nodded and they all went to walk out of the clearing.  
"Spoil sports!" Bonnie groaned, but she said nothing else. She did feel tired after all.

Bonnie – still determined to celebrate – ran on ahead, dancing and skipping and begging the others to join in. The others just laughed and said she'd been the only one who hadn't been badly hurt (Elena included – it's not everyday you come back to life). Bonnie ignored them and decided if they weren't going to party, then she'd rather be home before everyone else. She was shattered, and just wanted to lie down in her own, warm bed.  
"Bonnie! Bonnie, slow down!" Elena called, latched onto Stefan. Bonnie didn't listen and she stepped out of the woods and began to walk down past the old church and the remains of Wickery Bridge.

* * *

A twig snapped. It wasn't anything underfoot; it was the sound of a heavy branch breaking above. Matt glanced upwards and scowled.  
"Do you reckon Damon's watching us?" he asked, still raw that he hadn't stayed with them. Stefan stopped and looked up too, but even with his predator eyes he couldn't see anything up above them. It was too dark up there, like when he was back in the well.  
Elena shook her head finally and walked on. "If he is then he should just come down and talk to us. Why is he so stubborn?" she asked no one in particular. The rest began to follow her, Stefan still standing there gazing up into the canopy. 

"Guys… I really think-" he paused and his mouth dropped open. "Not _you_!" he cried, but it was too late. A dark form dropped down from the treetops and had leapt onto the unaware vampire before anyone could say '_werewolf'_. The beast snarled and clawed at Stefan on the ground, its mouth twisted into a grotesque form of a sneer. "_Salvatore_," came a howl from its throat. Elena stepped forward, just as calm as if she were dealing with fighting toddlers in a playground.

"Tyler, get off of him." She commanded, staring at the wolf crouching above her boyfriend, her expression set and unreadable. Meredith glanced at her but then turned away. Looking at her was like staring at the sun - she was glowing with light. It reminded her of how she'd been when she'd sent the ghosts to carry Klaus away, how she'd looked like a warrior goddess – so beautiful and dangerous, with her golden hair billowing around her like wings.

The animal's eyes locked onto the angel before him and he snarled, getting off of Stefan and crawling, dreamily, over to Elena – like a moth drawn to a light.  
"Tyler…" Elena warned - her body quivering. Her stern face evaporated into nothing. The last of her powers from beyond the grave had disappeared. Now she was no longer a vampire _or_ an angel. She was a scared teenage girl again, and she stepped backwards.  
The wolf wasn't hypnotised by her power, never had been. The full moon ducked into a flood of clouds and Tyler dropped to the floor, rising as a human again.

"I'm not going to hurt any of you," he hissed, his eyes dancing like Damon's did when he was laughing at you. "In fact, I want you all alive."  
Stefan stood up; ready to pounce on the intruder when suddenly a shady figure reached out from behind and wrapped their arms around him, restraining him.  
"Damon!" Matt cried out, almost running forward. Stefan could feel the cold hands even through his shirt and he knew by the delicacy of the arms and their shape that it wasn't his brother who held him back. It was a girl.  
"I have the boy," the woman told Tyler, her voice deep and slurred by a Transylvanian accent. Matt would've laughed at the unoriginality if it hadn't occurred at that point. An unknown person was holding their only defence. Possibly someone who had known Klaus, or even Katherine…

"Good. Bind him for me," Tyler ordered. Caroline was scowling at Tyler, watching him intently.  
"We had a deal Tyler…" she began. "What happened? I thought we were…"  
Tyler turned on her and frowned, eyes blazing. "Unfortunately for you, Caroline, you _didn't _read out Elena's diary, Stefan _wasn't _driven out of town and he nearly killed me. So that's twice now. Caroline – I'm sorry, but _you _didn't prove a worthy business partner."  
Matt scowled. "You deserve everything you get Tyler!"  
"Shut up!" Tyler growled and suddenly a wave of nausea swept over Matt and he dropped to the floor, his mind reeling. It was as if someone had put him under a spell. His body seemed to fold in on itself – he couldn't move.  
"The rest of them, too." Tyler frowned, turning around to face Stefan.

The woman stepped forward into the clearing and as soon as she saw her face, Meredith started screaming.

* * *

"Guys?" Bonnie looked out of her window from her spot on her bed. There was the sound of scuttling outside. She put her diary down and walked over to the pane, pressing her face against the glass. The street was empty - no one was out there. The sun shone over the houses and made it seem peaceful. She shrugged and went back to her diary. Scooping it up, she read her last entry. 

21 June, 7.30 a.m.  
_The Summer Solstice  
__Dear Diary,  
__Oh, it's all too much to explain and you wouldn't believe it anyway. I'm going to bed.  
__Bonnie _

Smiling to herself, she tucked it under her bed, hiding it beneath her mattress and on the bare boards of her bed.  
Suddenly a black shape flitted past the window, the image teasing at the edges of her vision. Bonnie's gaze fell on her window once more.  
There was a dark shape on her windowsill… a bird with wings shining with rainbows… a _crow. _

"Damon," she frowned, going over to the window and opening it. The bird cocked its head on one side and as Bonnie stepped back from the wall, it flew in. As soon as the bird had landed on the floor, it began to contort and Bonnie shut her eyes as a dark light shone, blinding her, and the next instant Damon was standing in her bedroom. He hadn't needed an invitation – he'd been asked in once before.

"What do you want?" she asked, opening her eyes again, hands on hips. _God, he really was beautiful…_ she thought. She was too happy to even pretend to be mad at him. Damon shrugged and rested back on her wall, smiling in that unnerving way of his.  
"I guess I was wondering whether you'd seen my brother." He said, his voice silky and dark. Bonnie shrugged, shaking in her nightwear. She felt vulnerable standing here in just her slip, talking to him. The last time they'd been completely alone he'd tried to seduce her.  
"I haven't seen him since we left the woods earlier. I ran on ahead." She told him, trying to act confident when she felt like she was a mouse standing up to a cat. Damon frowned and seemed to look off into the distance, deep in thought.  
"I can't feel him." He murmured. Bonnie opened her mouth, then closed it again. Vampires could feel auras, could feel other people's presence.  
"You mean – they're not there?" her voice shook, her mind portraying horrific images that span webs in her brain.  
"They aren't in Fells Church, that's for sure," Damon frowned. Seeing Bonnie's face, he added. "None of them are."  
Bonnie bowed her head. "It's all my fault…" she began. She didn't know how but she felt that if she'd been there, had stayed with them, then she could've prevented whatever had happened to them.  
"Don't be stupid, you couldn't have stopped whatever's happened." Damon hissed, reading her mind. Bonnie's head shot up. _Was that Damon trying to comfort her?_

"There's something else." Damon began, matter-of-factly. Bonnie wiped her eyes, tears already threatening to run.  
"What?" she asked, staring at the older boy, both terrified and calm around him.  
Damon smiled and looked out of the window, his arms folded and sunglasses in his pocket.  
"I can't feel Smallwood around either."

Bonnie gasped and suddenly her face creased up with anger. "Tyler!" she shrieked, furious. "I can't believe it!"  
"Neither can I. How could an idiot like that sneak up on a vampire? My brother should be…"  
"Damon! Stop trying to get one better on Stefan, okay? He was obviously thinking about… something else."

Damon sighed in understanding. _He_ would've been to busy fretting over Elena, too. He wouldn't still be looking for a werewolf.  
"I suppose you've proved your point." He frowned. _Finally_, Bonnie thought, _he was agreeing with something! _

"Listen – can't you go into some sort of trance?" Damon asked, turning to her, his eyes like two bottomless pits, searching Bonnie's mind.  
"No!" Bonnie cried. "I don't like trances. Maybe I could do a spell…"  
Damon groaned and turned away. "I don't believe in magic." He grunted, his back to her.

Bonnie clenched her fists. "You should. After all, you are…"  
"I am a _vampire. _Not a witch!" he growled.  
"Then how come you believe in my trances?" Bonnie questioned, her eyes narrowing. Damon turned to her angrily, his movements sharp and forced.  
"Because there are _some _creatures powerful enough to force others to speak what they want. Vampires, for instance." He spat, obviously thinking how stupid she was for not understanding.

"But Honoria…"  
"Was a ghost – not a witch." Damon finished.  
"_I'm_ a witch," Bonnie frowned, folding her arms, stubbornly. Damon laughed, throwing his head back. Bonnie's heart tightened and she realised then that she would do anything for Damon… just to be alone with him again. Suddenly, she realised what she'd just thought and wanted to kick herself. Damon was staring at her. He'd read her mind… he _knew_…

"_Anything_?" he whispered, stepping forward and smiling, his fangs curving down and denting his bottom lip, slightly. Bonnie stepped backwards.  
"Damon… Damon, we have to find the others. Damon, please…"  
"What would you do exactly, Bonnie McCullough?" he teased her, stepping forward.  
"Damon!"  
"What?"  
"Please…" Bonnie began, terrified. Her throat swelled up and she didn't know whether she was capable of saying anything else.  
"Damon, please…"

Damon laughed and stopped trying to corner her. "I'm only messing with you." He said, his eyes twinkling.  
Bonnie frowned. "Don't do it again,"  
"I won't," he promised. "Now, where is my brother?"

Bonnie let out a deep breath and went over to the chest of drawers at the bottom of her bed. She'd started filling it with loads of Druid things - mostly candles, incense and spells.  
"We need a Location Spell. Ah! Here it is," she brought out a piece of paper from her trunk, but frowned as she read the ingredients needed for the spell. "The only thing is… I need the blood of the person I'm looking -" she stopped and gasped as Damon bit into his wrist and held out the savaged hand to her.  
"Anything else?" he frowned. It took Bonnie a minute to realise that Damon and Stefan's blood were the same, and she relaxed.

"An object that reminds you of them," she read. Damon looked around the room, furiously, but stopped. He looked down at the lapis ring on his finger and drew out the sunglasses from his pocket. He placed the sunglasses in her hands and then went over to the window, drawing the curtains and pushing Bonnie's wardrobe before the glass. The room was flooded with darkness, no light even highlighting the sides of the furniture.

Bonnie ran to lock her door and she switched on her bedroom light.  
Damon removed his ring and when Bonnie came back, he handed it to her. Bonnie looked down at the silver ring with the blue gem embedded into it.  
"Our rings are identical," Damon told her, impatiently. He sat down on her floor, and Bonnie did too, getting out a few candles and a bowl.

"I thought you didn't believe in magic," she smiled.  
Damon shrugged. "There's a first time for everything."

* * *

It took a while for Bonnie to set up the candles. Damon's wrist was still dripping with blood and it took him all his power to prevent it from healing right away. Bonnie got a tissue and wiped some of the blood from his hand. As soon as it was done, he let it heal up. 

"We need to put the blood into a bowl of water, and then extinguish the flame with it. All the while we have to be thinking about Stefan – we can't speak at all. If at any moment we speak then…"  
"Whatever," Damon growled. Bonnie placed the bloody tissue into a bowl of water, and she lit a candle, sighing.  
"God, I hate making chants up!" she hissed, bowing her head and racking her brain for an idea. "Okay, here goes…"

"Aradia the Maiden,  
See where our friend lies,  
Candles for fire,  
Incense for the skies,

What is new is old,  
What was straight is round,  
Where is our friend?  
Let his spirit be found."

Damon looked up at her and smiled. _What was straight is round? _He wanted to laugh but suddenly images of his brother swamped his mind and he could do nothing but sit and wait.

Tall and slim… dark, wavy hair… green eyes… Italy… loves Elena… Damon's brother… the boarding house… Porsche… cologne…  
Bonnie was furiously thinking of things that reminded her of Stefan, sweating with the strain the spell was taking over her. It was as if she was being smothered by a blanket… she couldn't breathe, she couldn't even think about anything but Stefan. She'd completely forgotten that Damon was even in the room.

Vampire… Katherine… Klaus… white ash wood… hates Tyler… saved Caroline… friends with Matt…  
All the people that Stefan had ever encountered… all the bad times that had happened were called upon in Bonnie's mind.Vickie… lapis ring… eagle…

Suddenly, it felt as if a path had opened up before her.

Both Damon's mind working up the old Stefan, remembering him from when he was a child, and Bonnie's mind recalling the new Stefan – made it clear and strong.  
Bonnie went cold and she couldn't move, her breath coming in short gasps.

"_Tyler_… I'll kill him, I'll… Where are we? I think… I think we're in Florence… I'm not sure. There's something about this place… I g-get a vibe from it. Like… Like my tomb. That's it… I'm in the Salvatore tomb! I don't know where the girls are… _Matt_? Matt? He's asleep… Matt, Matt!"  
"_Bonnie_? Bonnie!" The small girl started fitting, her body twitching. She fell backwards, moaning.  
"Damon! Damon! Damon, help me! Damon, please! I'm weaker, I'm weaker, I'm -? _Damon_!"  
"_Stefan_!" Damon cried, tears rolling down his cheeks. It wasn't Bonnie's voice any longer. It was the voice of a frightened little child, screaming out for help. It was how Stefan had sounded when he was younger…

"Damon! Damon please…" and Bonnie started sobbing. She curled up into a ball and started wailing, crying out. Damon was far too busy worrying about Stefan to even think about Bonnie's parents. Thankfully, however, Damon had made them fall asleep when he'd been waiting outside Bonnie's house. He wasn't stupid.

Damon held Bonnie in his arms, holding her tightly and rocking her like a baby. He wanted it to stop - this was crazy! He couldn't stand to hear his brother like this. Reduced to _this_… a snivelling wreck.

Suddenly, as if someone had clicked their fingers, Bonnie stopped crying and she sat bolt upright, alert. It took her a while to realise where she was and who was holding on to her.  
Damon looked at her with soft, brown eyes – his insides shattered. _Stefan…  
_Bonnie couldn't believe that she was staring into the eyes of Damon Salvatore, the _real _him. Even back in the clearing his eyes had still been their usual black, but _now_? Now he looked like a little child, adamant that he had to save his little brother but had no idea how to do it.

He opened his mouth to snap at her, to tell her to stop staring, but he knew he was defeated. The walls he'd had up ever since Katherine had 'died'… the boundaries that he pushed people away from – even his own brother – crumbled.  
"Damon?" Bonnie's eyes searched his, urging him to understand.  
Damon couldn't reply he was so ashamed. Stefan had always been the sensitive brother and there he was – fresh tears perched on his cheeks. He couldn't speak - his throat had knotted up. The next instant, he'd wrapped his arms around Bonnie and they were holding each other – comforting each other.  
Bonnie lifted her face up to Damon's and their lips collided. They began kissing so fiercely that they wished they would never stop.

Finally, after about a minute or so, Bonnie drew away and looked around her room, confused. "But I didn't even do the ritual I…"  
"Yes you did. I watched you do it!"  
"_Did I_?" she gasped, her eyes wandering over the water on the floor and the smoking candle, the wick burning slightly from where the flame had been before.  
"I guess I must have been too busy to realise…" she looked back at Damon and smiled.

"He's in Florence," Damon muttered, bowing his head. Bonnie reached out her hand and touched his cheek with her palm, using her other hand to brush his hair through with her fingers.  
"Don't leave me…" she whimpered, holding onto him.  
Damon frowned and loosened his grip on her. "I have to save Stefan…"  
"I don't mean that and you know it." Bonnie whispered, looking up into his chocolate brown eyes. Damon's frown curved upwards and his eyes twinkled.

"Stay like this forever, Damon. Please… just be _you_. You don't have to be so mean all the time…"  
"Bonnie, I-" Damon stopped, bowed his head and took a deep breath. Bonnie wove her fingers into his and they sat there like that for a while, neither looking at one another.  
"Will you come to Florence with me?" Damon finally asked. Bonnie nodded, and rested her head on his chest. "Of course I will." She grinned.

Damon tightened his grip on her hand and bent his head down. Bonnie smiled and tilted her head to the side, freeing her hands from around Damon's waist. She stretched her neck out ready and started to unbutton his shirt.  
The next second she felt his teeth dig into her neck and she bit her bottom lip, happily. It didn't hurt – not like she'd expected it to – and she waited for him to pull away.


	2. The Vampire And The Druid, Sacred Love

**The Aftershock  
****(Summer Solstice)  
****2**

Once again, I only own Neve! All the dedications remain the same and I will try and keep this one flowing!

**Bonnie's In Love**

Bonnie's eyes snapped open. Her room was dark and she couldn't see a thing - the wardrobe still positioned in front of her window. For instant she wondered whether her parents would wake up, but realised Damon had obviously sedated them pretty well. The alarm clock by her bed read: 12.30 p.m. and she blinked, wiping her eyes in disbelief. _Surely not_…  
"Bonnie? Are you awake?" Damon whispered, nuzzling her neck with his nose and smiling. Bonnie didn't reply, and she shut her eyes. She didn't know why, but she didn't want to be awake with him right now.  
"Bonnie?" Damon rolled her over and he saw that she was still asleep (or so he thought). He smiled and looked down at her, brushing her auburn hair out of her face. "Bonnie…" he tried to wake her up, nudging her slightly. Bonnie felt her arms erupt in goose bumps as he rubbed her arm, affectionately, trying to wake her up. His hands were so warm…

"Come on you, I know you're up." Damon laughed, kissing her on the cheek. Bonnie screwed her face up but she still said nothing – _did_ nothing – but lay there. Damon sighed and rolled off of her, lying next to her. "Are you okay?" he whispered, clutching her hand.  
"Fine," Bonnie told him. It wasn't a lie – she'd never felt happier. But she missed the others…  
"Damon…"  
"Stefan can take care of himself for now. We'll leave for Italy tonight,"  
"But Damon…" Bonnie breathed, sighing.  
"What is it?" he asked, drawing up so close to her that their bodies were touching.

"I'm scared," she muttered, ashamed. Damon laughed, not in an evil way, or even an accusing way, just a normal laugh.  
"Of Tyler Smallwood? His brain is in his pants!"  
Bonnie giggled. "Yeah? And right now yours is too."

Damon frowned, but he blushed nevertheless. Bonnie wondered how old Damon actually was. She knew he wasn't older than twenty-two, but Stefan had never said.  
"Twenty one," Damon smiled.  
"W-What?"  
"I'm twenty one." He told her, caressing her cheek with his middle finger, grinning like a kid.

"Oh," Bonnie sighed. "Damon, look, aren't you in the least bit suspicious of how Tyler could have single-handedly captured and kidnapped five people?"  
Damon looked away from her face and frowned in thought. "I've thought about that."  
"And?"  
"_And_ he's a werewolf. Who knows what he's capable of? He could've picked them up one by one or he got Stefan and then they gave up. I don't know Bonnie – I'm more concerned about what he's planning to do with them." He sighed. "But let's not worry about that right now. We can't do anything yet. We need our rest."  
"Like we're going to get any rest!" Bonnie giggled, her cheeks pinking. Damon laughed and launched on her, clambering on top of her.

* * *

"Elena!" Tyler called, waving the girl over. The blonde girl's head looked up and she frowned, disgusted.  
"What is it?" she growled, standing up – the chains connecting her ankles clinking as she did so.  
"It's time for my massage." Tyler grinned, a sneer painted across his ugly face. Elena was almost sick but some form of magic forced her to walk forward and up to the other boy. She stood over him, appalled, and her hands shot out, automatically, ready to strangle him.  
The woman sitting in the chair, with Meredith at her side, looked up at her and muttered a few words. The next instant, Elena's hands contorted from claws into a less threatening position and against her own will, her hands ducked beneath Tyler's shirt.  
Elena moaned in protest and Caroline glared at the woman furiously. Meredith refused to acknowledge the woman – she didn't even look at her.

"Master Tyler?" The woman smiled.  
"Mm?" Tyler shut his eyes and relaxed, Elena's hands calming him down. Elena wanted to wipe that smile off of his face, but she was bound with powers she couldn't describe.  
"I was wondering whether I could have this girl as my assistant." She told him, pointing at Meredith. The black-haired girl turned cold and she frowned, bowing her head. Tyler's eyes snapped open and he glanced at Meredith, briefly, before waving a hand.  
"Sure, whatever." The woman bowed as if she were a humble servant of a great king and plucked Meredith from the floor.  
"Come child." She beckoned, directing Meredith into the adjoining room.

* * *

"_Damon_!" Bonnie moaned, giggling under the covers of her bed.  
"Yes?" Damon teased. He got a slap for it, but he couldn't help but laugh. He'd never realised before how beautiful Bonnie was.  
"Stop it! You know what I mean!" she laughed, kicking him. Damon grabbed hold of her and they rolled over so Bonnie was on top. Some how, Damon turned her kick into a little game of footsies and they lay there, one on top of the other, completely untouchable.

"Damon…"  
"Mm?" he replied, watching her intently.  
"D-Do you love me?" Bonnie asked, searching his eyes for even the slightest hint that he did.  
Damon stiffened and looked away, making Bonnie feel disgusting and cheated.

"You don't," she finished. She got up off of him and crawled out of the bed, picking her slip off of the floor. She felt the tears fall down her face.  
"I didn't say that!" Damon hissed, getting up out of bed.  
"I can't believe I let myself get used like that…" Bonnie scolded herself, getting dressed again.  
"Bonnie…"

Bonnie bent down and cried into her sleeve.  
"Go away!" she cried, furious at him.  
"Bonnie, I didn't say…"  
"_Leave me alone_!" she screeched. Damon started to tremble, terrified and angry.  
"Bonnie, don't… I do love you, I _do_…"

"You're just saying that! I can't believe I was so stupid! I should've realised the only person you love is yourself!"  
"_Bonnie_!" Damon growled, furious. He was about to pounce on her, when his eyes snapped to the leather jacket, black shirt and jeans in Bonnie's hands. He looked around the floor and realised that his boxers were somewhere in that mound too.  
"What are you going to do with them?" he sneered. "You're toying with me – aren't you? You don't want me to put my clothes on again. You love my body too much." He laughed. Bonnie felt sick and she flung his clothes at him.

"I wish I'd never -" she ran to her door and unlocked it, pulling it open and running downstairs crying.  
Damon rolled his eyes and started to put his clothes back on. He didn't know how he felt. He thought he was furious with her but he just loved her even more. Because he _did_ love her, and he wished he'd told her.

* * *

"Your name is Meredith, no?" the woman asked, sitting down next to Meredith on the floor. The girl shied away, not wanting to talk.  
"My name is Neve. Neve…"  
"I know who you are." Meredith spat, furious. "You were my grandfather's first wife."  
Neve nodded and stroked Meredith's long black hair with her fingertips. "That is correct." She agreed. "I am also your grandmother."  
"That's a lie! My grandmother was called Claudia Portman. She married my granddad and then they had _my_ dad! You're lying!"  
"Don't be stupid, child. Look at me!" Meredith, despite her efforts, was forced to look at Neve. The woman looked in her late twenties so how she could be her grandmother, she didn't know!

"Look at our hair, child, this is the hair of the Armani's – the most powerful family of witches on Earth! Your father has this family trait - we all have it. I married your grandfather to get back at that snivelling husband of mine. I know it was bigamy but I suppose I loved your grandfather, too. I had your father and then I gave him to your grandfather. I faked my own death and left. After a while, your grandfather remarried this 'Claudia' you speak of and I moved back to Transylvania.  
"Over the years, my husband and I had been on silent terms. We moved back to Germany, my husband's hometown. He was always busy with this apprentice of his. A beautiful girl name Katherine…"

Meredith froze and stared at Neve, unbelieving. "Y-You was married to K-Klaus?"  
"That is correct." Neve nodded. "And then what happens? Katherine kills him! Got too evil for her own good. I wasn't _too_ upset. Katherine moved away, Klaus was revived and he was alive again. He is one of the Old Ones after all. He…he then left me.  
"Years passed. He came back to me one day and I told him I had another husband and a son in America. He was furious. He asked the name of my other husband and I told him. I warned him that he was now an old man and my son was grown up with a daughter – _you_. I also told him he'd remarried, but nothing stopped him. That was not that long ago."

"But you are still young. I don't understand…"  
"I am a vampire, child. It is in your blood, too. I learned magic from my mother and Klaus - I was far better at it than he. He learnt powers for fighting, I for binding and healing. There is no magic I do not know. After I married Klaus he made me a vampire, whereupon he began to teach me how to 'thrive in the darkness'. Child you are my granddaughter, you are an Armani witch."  
"And a vampire too." Meredith frowned, sick.  
"Not quite. Over the years your blood has been somewhat diluted. You no longer have any vampire traits or instincts. You are human more-or-less. Otherwise you are only half-vampire. Unless…"  
"Unless what?"  
"Unless you are _reinstated_." Neve muttered, turning away.

"No thanks." Meredith frowned. Klaus had almost killed her grandfather – almost killed _her_. Did he know, the night of the Summer Solstice that it was, in some form, his grand daughter in the clearing? _I am the step-granddaughter of an Old One.  
_"That is correct, child. As I am a vampire I cannot have children with a mortal. I was already pregnant with your father. You are not a Sulez." Neve spoke, reading her mind.  
"Oh my God…" Meredith breathed. "Klaus is my… my _real _grandfather?"  
Neve nodded. Meredith let out a moan and collapsed in her grandmother's arms.

* * *

"Have you calmed down yet?" Damon asked, his eyes fixed on the road. Bonnie didn't reply, she just sat there – her face blank.  
"Bonnie, please! I do love you, okay? I'm not just saying that. I swear!" Damon begged, furious that he was being made to feel like he was weaker. Damon hated many things but mostly he hated feeling weak.  
"Bonnie…"  
"Damon I don't want to talk about it. The sooner we get to Florence, the better."  
"We'll be on a plane together for about twelve hours – we can talk then."  
"Whatever," Bonnie frowned. Damon sighed and took a right turning. They'd been in the car for about an hour already and Bonnie hadn't spoken at all on the way down. Now they were nearing the airport, Damon was getting nervous.

"Two tickets to Florence please." Damon told the woman behind the desk, handing over his credit card.  
"Will you be returning?" she asked, politely. Damon looked over at Bonnie minding the bags and nodded.  
"Yes we will be."  
"Your passports please." Damon handed them over. It was annoying for him to keep getting a new passport. His photo was always the same but he had to get one every year, from a different place. It was like a routine he had to do. He never went to the same airline twice.  
"Your lucky, you had the last tickets. Your flight will be leaving soon." The woman handed over the passports and the tickets, swiping Damon's card and handing it over.  
"Enjoy your holiday." She smiled.  
"Thank you." Damon replied, putting on a grin. As he looked around, he saw that Bonnie had gone.

* * *

"Think hard, child. Think about what you want it to do and how. It's simple. Let your mind flow." Meredith hadn't wanted to do these stupid magic lessons but Neve was making her. It was better than giving Tyler back rubs though, so she tried her hardest. She kept thinking over and over that this was Bonnie's thing – not hers.

The sword that was mounted on the wall finally dislodged and drifted into Meredith's hands.  
"Very good control." Neve complimented. Meredith looked the sword up and down and saw that it had 'Salvatore' engraved in the handle.  
"This was Stefan's father's sword." She noted, sighing.  
"Stefan Salvatore? He is a good boy, child, I not know why young Tyler try to hurt him so." Neve sighed. "His brother – not so good – but times change."

"Why are you helping Tyler?" Meredith finally blurted out.  
"Because, child, a woman wants to see her granddaughter after fifty years of being apart from her and her father. Also because Master Tyler is determined to bring Klaus back."  
"_What_?" Meredith whispered, turning cold.  
"He claims he has not become a full werewolf and wants to know how to harness his powers. Klaus is the only one who can help him, he says. I, for one, want Klaus to see you. He will be so proud…"  
"No, grandma, I will not meet him." Meredith scowled. If she saw Klaus she would kill him, or if not he would kill her.  
"It makes my heart bleed to hear you say that," Neve sighed, going out into the other room, where Neve had used her magic to command Elena and Caroline to lap-dance for Tyler.

"Grandma?"  
"Yes?"  
"Don't hurt my friends," Meredith pleaded.  
"I am sorry, child. I have to do what young Tyler says or he will hurt you all. Understand that."  
"But he's just using them to get his… his…"  
"Pleasures?"  
"Exactly."

"Child it is a distraction. Not to mention a way to get back at young Salvatore and his companion, Matt. The _real _ritual is what is happening in the Salvatore tomb. It is evil, child, you must never stray from this house. Promise me."  
"I promise." Meredith didn't have to lie – she didn't want to go out there even if it meant being a coward. Stefan and Matt were safe, they weren't being tortured – they had each other. Who did she have? A family she didn't want.

* * *

"What are you playing at? I thought I'd lost you!" Damon scowled, standing next to Bonnie. She was too busy putting nickels in a machine to answer.  
"Bonnie!" Damon's eyes spun to what Bonnie was trying to retrieve from the machine and his mouth gathered into an 'o' shape.  
"So I'm forgiven then, am I?" he asked, smiling. Bonnie retrieved the small packet and waved it in front of his nose.  
"We'll wait and see." She grinned. Damon followed her, suddenly depressed.  
"Bonnie you shouldn't have bought those – there's no point."  
"Why not?"  
"I can't… I can't – you know – do _that_."  
"What?"  
"_That_!" Damon hissed, as if it was so blatantly obvious what he meant. Bonnie stared at him for a while, not understanding.  
"Oh forget it! I'll explain later!" he frowned, folding his arms.  
"Let's go – we have to go through passport control and luggage. Come on." Bonnie linked his arm and led him off in the direction of their flight.

* * *

"So tell me. You can't _what_?" Bonnie asked, sitting back into her seat, smiling at Damon. They'd gotten onto the plane okay, and for once Bonnie wasn't feeling sick. _It must be the vampire blood in my veins_, she thought. Normally on flights she'd be sick but not this time.  
Damon sighed and turned to her.  
"I can't have kids." He whispered. "And that's the polite way of putting it." He frowned, looking around to make sure no one had heard. He couldn't have told her through his mind – he hadn't fed in ages and if he used his powers then it would be suicide.

"But you did this morning." Bonnie told him, confused.  
Damon shook his head. "No I didn't."  
"Yes you did!" Bonnie hissed, punching him on the arm.

"Can I get you anything, sir?" an airhostess had appeared out of nowhere at Damon's side. She smiled, pulling her trolley after her.  
"No thanks. Bonnie, do you want anything?"  
"Can I have a bottle of water please?" She asked, handing over the exact amount of money. The woman smiled and handed a bottle of water over.  
"Thank you." The woman smiled and moved on down the aisle.

"Bonnie…"  
"You _can,_ Damon. I know you can, I…" Bonnie coughed and bowed her head.  
She mumbled so quietly that Damon couldn't even hear. Now that the blood in his veins was slowly drying up, his skills were going too. Now he had the ears of a normal human.  
"What did you say?"  
Bonnie mumbled it again.  
"What?"  
"I FELT IT!" She shrieked, furious. Her face was bright pink and Damon sat back, embarrassed. All eyes were facing in their direction. Bonnie bowed her head and took a sip of her drink.  
"Well, at least you heard _that_." She mumbled.


	3. Ressurection

**The Aftershock  
****(Summer Solstice)  
****3**

**Revival/Resurrection**

Damon and Bonnie stepped into their hotel room, utterly exhausted. For the entire flight people had been staring at them and giving them cold glares. When they were recovering their luggage someone walked past and whispered '_they should be ashamed of themselves_'.  
They were sick and tired and wanted to lie down really badly. Bonnie was the first one to collapse onto the bed. It had looked suspicious when they'd walked into the hotel and Bonnie had had to say, "Come on Damon," – okay maybe it didn't look _too_ suspicious, but it unnerved them both. The last thing they wanted was to alert any vampire hunters.

"Damon? Are we going to your place tomorrow?" Bonnie asked, getting comfy. Theirs was a double bed and neither complained about sharing. Bonnie had realised that it was far too stupid of her to even think Damon wanted to talk about 'love' yet and that even if he didn't say so he did deep down.  
Damon smiled and sat down on the bed, sighing. "It's hardly 'my place' any more. I haven't been there in centuries." He bowed his head and looked at her. Bonnie's lashes were long and teased her cheeks as she kept trying to keep her eyes open.

"Bonnie… I've got to go," Damon stood up, bending down to kiss Bonnie goodbye.  
"What? Where are you going?" Bonnie sat up, still half-asleep.  
"Do you want an answer or can you guess?" he was already at the door. Bonnie looked over at him, saw his waxy face and knew right away what he meant.  
"Oh,"  
"Do you want me to pick you up something on the way back?"  
"Can you get me a slice of pizza or something?"  
"Can do. I won't be long," Damon was starting out of the door when Bonnie coughed to get his attention.

"Damon?"  
"Yes?"  
"Don't hurt anyone," she smiled, desperately trying to make him understand. Damon nodded and walked out of the door.  
"He's changed," Bonnie told herself happily, lying back on the bed to sleep.

* * *

"Once more Salvatore and I don't need you," Tyler smiled, slapping Stefan on the back. Stefan groaned and cut another great gash down his arm, letting the blood drip into the large, golden basin that Tyler had set up.  
"Excellent," 

"_Three upon three,  
__Return threefold,  
__Blood of thy enemy,  
__In basin of gold. _

_One upon one,  
__Return to thy life,  
__Where good is banished,  
__And evil is rife._" Tyler chanted. Matt smiled. He'd never thought Tyler was a chanting person – he thought he didn't believe in that sort of stuff. But Tyler had seen many rituals and initiations now to start magic.

The blood in the basin bubbled and writhed like there were great tentacles drowning inside, reaching out - trying to pull them all in. Stefan's arm started to heal again and the blood Tyler had collected from him over three days turned black and there was the smell of burning.

"_White ash wood… white ash wood… white ash wood_…" A voice whispered on the winds.

Matt stared in horror and clung onto Stefan as the two friends stepped backwards in disbelief. Tyler laughed and held his arms out in a summoning manner.  
A body was gathering in the blood, growing and growing until a red figure was standing, fully dressed, in the basin – still covered in blood.  
The person wiped the blood from their face and hair; only to reveal strands so white-blonde they could've been snow.

"Salvatore!" he announced, spreading his arms out – welcoming.

* * *

"Stefan!" Elena cried, desperate to speak to him. The last time she'd seen him was the night of the Solstice, three nights ago. She had a feeling something terrible was going to happen… something – _evil_.  
Because Tyler was in the tomb with Matt and Stefan and Neve was busy with Meredith, Caroline and Elena were unsupervised. For some reason, Neve had removed their magical binds so they could wander free of the house. _But why_? Elena wondered. 

A familiar figure was stomping up the hill, a stammering teenager trailing behind him. Elena could tell by the boy's mop of brown hair and tight trousers that it was Tyler. And the person? The snow-white hair, the trench coat – it was all too familiar. Elena was almost sick with shock.

"Elena how lovely to see you!" he smiled, walking up to her, his stride animal-like and dangerous.  
"And you," she spat, frowning.  
"Gosh, the last time I saw you was… oh, I remember now! When you sent me to exile. When was that? _Three _days ago. You have to do better than that, Elena!" Klaus jeered, staring her down.  
"It was enough for us to know we beat you, Klaus." She told him. Tyler was walking back into the mansion. For some reason he thought that when Klaus came back _he _would be the leader. Funny how people always think like that.

"Listen Elena, I'm going to give you a chance, I-" Klaus' head snapped up and his eyes locked with a stern face - a woman his age was staring at him, silently, from the doorway of the Salvatore mansion.  
"Neve? What are you doing here?" Klaus breathed, utterly shocked.  
"I came to see the resurrection of my husband – is that a crime?" Neve frowned, looking slightly impatient.  
"It's good to see you…"  
"I have a surprise for you."  
"What is it? The other Salvatore brother?" Klaus laughed. Elena cringed inside. If only Damon was taking care of Bonnie… if Bonnie was safe that was all that mattered. Elena didn't know how _safe _Bonnie was.

"No. It's your granddaughter." Neve told him. Klaus stopped laughing and stared, completely silent.  
"I don't even have a child, let alone a _grand_child." He frowned, clenching his fists.  
"Do you remember someone by the name of Sulez?" Elena's insides ran cold. _Oh no… _So _that _explained why Meredith was always with her. But it couldn't be true… it _couldn't_ be.  
"The creep that stole my darling? Yes I remember. I also remember how he tasted, and how I nearly got that little…"  
"Klaus, this is Meredith – your granddaughter." Suddenly the black-haired girl was standing next to Neve. It was shocking how much they looked alike. Meredith's eyes wouldn't meet Klaus'; she stared into the distance, unblinking.

Klaus growled. "That's not my granddaughter. That's a human. She may be yours but…"  
"No. You don't understand. Her father was _your _son, not his."  
Klaus froze. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe. All he felt was pain, hatred… and a grim sort of pride.  
"She tried to kill me,"  
"She didn't know who you were, nor you her. Klaus, she is your flesh and blood – she's half-vampire!" Neve screeched, ferociously – putting a protective arm around Meredith.

Elena dropped to the ground, speechless. Her best friend was a vampire, too. And not just any vampire – the granddaughter of an Old One.  
"So – you believe she is our granddaughter because-?"  
"Because she has my powers, Klaus. I've tested her – she's Armani."  
"So, she's an Armani witch _and_ a grandchild to an Old One. Quite a powerful combination." _Armani witch_, thought Elena, confused. _What's an Armani witch? _

"Talk about a reunion!" Klaus sighed. He held out a hand to Meredith.  
"Come, let me take a look at you." He ordered. Meredith didn't want to move but Neve directed her, like a puppet, to her grandfather.  
"You have Armani hair. Ha, my stern expression! Your grandmother's eyes and her serious face. You look every bit Armani but there's something about you I can't quite place…" Klaus began, pondering. Meredith stepped backwards; glad to be away from his inspection.  
"Well, I'll know soon enough. Darling, get everyone in the house. Elena, you come with me." Klaus directed.  
Neve nodded and took Meredith with her to the tomb at the bottom of the hill while a very happy vampire dragged Elena inside.

* * *

"Agh!" Damon sat bolt upright, sweat pouring off him and running down his forehead as he tried to unearth the nightmare that had just ran around inside his mind.  
"Damon, what is it?" Bonnie asked, groggily – rolling over in the bed and clinging onto him.  
Damon looked down at his naked body and then Bonnie's. He relaxed and wiped his face, amused. He didn't often get nightmares. He needed to be calm so the memory of it could run away with his stress. 

It was Klaus… Damon had dreamed that on the night of the Solstice they hadn't won. Damon was swept back to his dream, unwillingly, and he slammed his eyes shut and shook his head to get rid of the thought.

The piece of white ash had landed not far from Damon and he realised on whom it had been used upon. He could feel Stefan's health dripping away…  
"_Get away from my brother."  
_And then, before he could deal with Klaus any further, the lightning had struck him down – before it was even meant to. The next instant, Bonnie was struck down, then the others.  
Damon sat up, terrified. He watched the others die, and he didn't understand why Klaus hadn't killed him there and then.  
The blonde vampire turned to him, grinned, and dropped down beside Stefan, laughing.  
"Watch this Salvatore. I'm going to find out how your brother tastes."  
Damon roared and tried to get up but he couldn't move. Klaus bent down and… and…  
"Vintage? I'd say about… ooh, fifteenth century? Good century… good _blood_." He sneered.  
"NO!" and Damon had watched his brother crumple… just like how he'd killed Mr Tanner… "No! No please! _Elena_!" But Elena didn't come. No one liked Damon… no one pitied him enough to save him.

Damon's eyes snapped open and he took a deep breath. It had been the worst nightmare he'd ever had. It was so real that he felt like that had actually been what had happened.  
"Bonnie?" he whispered, nudging the girl on his left. Bonnie stirred and looked up at him.  
"What is it?"  
"I – Nothing. Don't worry about it." Damon sighed, lying back down again and cuddling up to her. "It's nothing."  
"Are you okay? Did you take enough to feed?" Bonnie asked, acting like a worried older sister.

Damon laughed. "That's not it. I'm worried,"  
"About Stefan?"  
"Mm."  
"Don't worry. Tyler's a push over!" Bonnie giggled, resting her head above his heart. She could hear it beat, how it was always so slow… like Meredith's and Stefan's… but Meredith had always been calm. The only time she'd been thrown off guard was at Vickie's house, and even then she'd gained composure. Also the night Elena came back to life.

"God, that was three days ago. _Only_ three days…" Bonnie whispered. Damon looked down at her. "Yeah, I can't believe it either. It feels like a lifetime." He was brought back to his dream again, and he screwed his face up in detest.

* * *

"No…" Elena whimpered, backing away from Klaus. The vampire laughed and turned his back on her to lock the door. She tried to run at him, but he'd already turned back again and had hold of her flailing wrists before she knew what was happening. He twisted her arms behind her back and laughed.  
"Don't even try it, Elena. Stefan will be up here soon and we can all have a party, ay? Would you like that?"  
"Leave Stefan out of this!" Elena begged, trying to get out of his grip.  
"On the contrary Elena, I'd love to have his company." He leant in close and whispered into her ear, "As I love your company too. Did you tell Stefan about-?"  
"No, I didn't!" Elena moaned, terrified.  
"Ah, a lying partner! So why didn't you?"  
"Because… because I didn't have a chance!"  
"Excuses, Elena, excuses." Klaus turned sharply to the right as his ears picked up Tyler's movements outside – he was dragging someone with him. 

"Smallwood! Salvatore! Come in!" Klaus boomed, opening the door of what had been Stefan's chamber back in the Renaissance. Tyler threw Stefan into the room and nodded at Klaus.  
"The others are chained up downstairs."  
"And my granddaughter?"  
"With Neve."

"Good – I give you my word I'll help you tomorrow Tyler, but I'm not to be disturbed until morning do you understand?"  
"Yes sir."  
"And tell Neve I'm… _dealing with business_." Klaus grinned. Tyler nodded and shuffled outside. Klaus shut his eyes and with one thought, sent the rest of the house asleep. Elena and Stefan didn't realise it, though, and furiously tried to call out for help.

"Shut up!" Klaus hissed, using his powers to make it impossible for them to speak. Tears streamed down Elena's cheeks as Klaus still had her in his grip. Stefan jumped up off of the floor but Klaus made him fall down again with one glance.  
It seemed impossible, but somehow he managed to tie the two of them up – putting Elena on the bed and standing Stefan up by the wall.

"This was your bed, wasn't it Salvatore?" Klaus smiled, sitting down at the end of it – his eyes fixed on Elena. Stefan groaned and tried to cry out.  
"Don't be a fool – the others are asleep. No one's going to disturb us until morning. So – how about a bit of music?" Klaus grinned, withdrawing a cassette player from a pocket in his trench coat. He walked over to Stefan and put the earphones in his ears, and turned up the music at full volume. Stefan felt sick when he realised what song it was – _Goodnight Sweetheart. _Almost on an afterthought, Klaus turned it down and smiled.  
"I don't want you to feel left out, Salvatore." Stefan didn't realise what he meant – _then_. Klaus took off his coat and revealed the green shirt and jeans beneath. He brushed his hair through with his fingers and sighed.

"You two love each other don't you?" he smiled, leaning back on the bed and lying back next to Elena. She cringed and tried to crawl away but she was paralysed in her bindings. Stefan wanted to cry but he couldn't. For some reason, he wasn't able to call upon one tear – he felt so angry. He wanted to kill Klaus, to rip him apart with his bare hands.

"Elena never told you what happened between us, did she Salvatore?" Klaus clicked his fingers and the block in Stefan's throat seemed to clear.  
"What?" he growled.  
Klaus laughed and put his arm around Elena, making Stefan's face grow red-hot with anger.

"I mean, me and Elena were together – weren't we Salvatore? I was watching out for her in that little place beyond the grave. Do you really expect me to not acknowledge such a pretty little thing?"  
"_Why you_…" Stefan tried to jump forward but he couldn't. Elena was shaking with each sob sounding from her mouth.

"Well, she was _extremely _good, Salvatore. You're about to witness the same action again." Klaus said, his face wild with both happiness and laughter. He was going to enjoy every minute of this.  
"Elena!" Stefan cried, terrified that anyone so evil were to put their hands on his girl. "Elena! Klaus… Klaus please!"  
"Why should I do you a favour? I like Elena – she's _very _beautiful." He bent down and kissed her on the cheek, his eyes never leaving her face.  
"NO! NO please I'll do what ever you want!"  
"Die then!"  
"_NO_!" Elena screamed, petrified. Stefan bowed his head and started to cry.

"Please, Klaus… Please I'll do anything."  
"Anything?"  
"Yes," Stefan sighed.  
"Stefan, no…" Elena choked out.  
"Well, Salvatore, there is one thing."  
Stefan raised his head, expectantly. "Well?"  
"_You can watch this_." Klaus laughed. Stefan felt his throat knot up and his heart pound against his ribcage.

"No!" He couldn't stand to have him touch Elena… not _Elena_… anything but that. Klaus started to pull his clothes off and take Elena's off too, paying no intention to Stefan but fully aware that he was there.  
"No!" Stefan cried again.  
"Do you know what Salvatore? I'm really going to enjoy this." And the next instant he was on top of her – and Elena was moaning, screaming at the top of her lungs for it to stop. Stefan's head was reeling and the next thing he knew, he was being sick.


	4. Slain

**The Aftershock  
****(Summer Solstice)  
****4**

Be warned: includes character death.

**Slain**

Stefan raised his head, too weak to bother with doing anything else. He felt absolutely shattered – watching Klaus pull himself off of Elena finally and kiss her on the forehead. Stefan thought it was all his fault, and his head screamed insults at him, questioning why he couldn't have saved her.  
Klaus swung out of the bed and started dressing again, Stefan shutting his eyes and turning his face away in detest. Elena was unconscious, lying on the bed, her pale skin shining like porcelain.

"So, Salvatore, how was it?" Klaus sneered, fully clothed. He stood in front of Stefan and smirked at him, cocking his head on one side.  
"I'll tell Neve," Stefan growled, even though his voice lacked any power. Klaus could tell he'd won just by looking at him.  
"Go ahead. Tell her – she won't believe you." Klaus laughed, turning away from him and opening the door. The rest of the house was still asleep and Stefan had had to put up with five hours of this torture. Elena had fainted around half an hour ago but Klaus refused to stop when he could still see Stefan was in pain.

"Smallwood!" Klaus called down the stairs. There was movement on the ground floor and people started shuffling about, awake again. Tyler nearly jumped out of his skin and he ran upstairs. _He must have fallen asleep_…  
"Y-Yes?"  
"You wanted me to help you, well here I am!" Klaus announced, smiling. Tyler nodded and let Klaus follow him downstairs.

Stefan wanted to scream, to yell out – to do something other than stand here and wait for the others to find him like this. Worst of all for anyone to see Elena so vulnerable. Bowing his head, he decided to wait.

* * *

Damon flung the gates open and started stomping up the hill upon recognising Tyler's car outside the mansion. Bonnie followed him, trembling. If he was going to launch himself into this…

The door was wide open as far as Damon could see, the tomb on his right looming closer. The front door of the house was too. As Damon stepped inside the smell of smoke filled his lungs and he coughed, violently. Bonnie waited outside.

Night had fallen long ago and Damon was thankful that he was a vampire for once. At least he could see well in the dark. Before him lay an upturned bowl, its golden colour glinting in the moonlight. He stared at it for a while, curious. It was big enough to take a bath in – who knew how deep it actually was! Blood was running from it. Damon didn't know whose blood it was. It smelt like it, but it was black in colour…  
Matt groaned and opened his eyes, staring up at Damon. "Stefan?" he whispered.

Damon bent down and shook his head. "Matt, it's me – Damon. I'm gonna get you out of here."  
"Damon? I-It's r-really y-y-you?" Matt stammered, trying to grab hold of Damon to see if he was real and not a figment of his imagination. Damon smiled and pulled the human from the floor, holding him close as he suddenly swayed, dizzily.  
"It's Klaus… he took Stefan," Matt murmured, coughing as smoke rose and swirled about them like a mist.  
"Matt, Klaus is dead," Damon frowned, carting Matt outside. He was imagining it… Klaus wasn't _actually_ here.  
"Tyler… h-he brought him back," Matt blurted out before collapsing in Damon's arms.

Bonnie locked Matt in the rental car she and Damon had brought and dropped him down on the backseat. "Stay with him," Damon had instructed and she planned to do just that, tears stinging her eyes as well as making it impossible for her to speak. She wanted Damon… she was worried about him. The thought of him was exploding in her mind and she reached out in her head to try and remember every single detail of him before anything could hurt him. She cared so much for him now it was painful to even look at him.

Damon glided up the stairs as if he were a ghost, hardly noticing that his feet only just touched the floor. He wasn't making any sounds – alert for any sign to show where Klaus was hiding. He was glad to find, though, that Klaus and Tyler were in the garden – waiting for the full moon to come out of the clouds.

A woman was bustling about downstairs, talking to Meredith about 'family honour' and Caroline was asleep. Bonnie and Matt were still in the car. The night blanketed Florence with a stillness that made it possible for Damon to hear out into the centre of town, where some rowdy tourists and students were having a good time. Damon never felt so in touch with himself before – his skills were flourishing before his eyes.

He could feel Stefan's pain. It wasn't so much physical, but a mental torment. It was as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Damon reached out with his mind, but nothing answered his question of where Elena was. He could only locate people if they were conscious… or alive.

He quickened his step, terrified of being caught by Klaus before he could save his brother. He was desperate to get to him, to help him in any way he could – to just tell him that he loved him and would always be there for him.

Damon opened the door to Stefan's chamber and swung inside, shutting the door behind him as quiet as possible. Stefan, on his right, raised his head and his eyes widened in disbelief. "Damon?" he whispered, genuinely happy to see him.  
Damon crept over and looked down at his brother. He seemed so weak – so fragile. Stefan's face was pale and waxy; he looked as if he was dying. In reality, Stefan hadn't eaten for four days, possibly more, and he was finding it hard to keep awake.  
"Don't you die on me, brother." Damon whispered – acknowledging Stefan, for the first time, as equal. He wasn't 'little Stefan' or 'baby brother' any more. He was dying – and that was all that mattered.

"Elena…" Stefan began, his voice faltering. Damon turned and saw the naked body lying on the bed - her figure twisted into painful angles and her golden hair lying about her, raggedly.  
"Oh my…" Damon sucked in a breath and looked around the room.  
"Get Elena out…" Stefan murmured, close to tears.

Damon walked up to the bed and folded Elena up in the sheets – untouched after all these years. The room looked as if it hadn't changed, the whole house hadn't changed. It was as if when the brothers had stopped ageing, so had the house.  
When Elena was wrapped from the neck down, Damon lifted her up and sent a sympathetic look at Stefan. His brother was smiling, faintly, and a tear dropped down from his cheek.  
"You were right, Damon. You said you'd have her in the end. T-Take care of her…" Stefan sobbed. Damon scowled.

"No Stefan. I'm with Bonnie now - I love Bonnie. You and Elena, you've got something special. You can't j-just…" Stefan sniffed and Damon wracked his brain for something else. "Stefan please – I haven't even begun to make up for all the times we argued. You're my brother… I _need_ you." Damon pleaded, going over to his brother to untie his bindings.  
Stefan shook his head and when Damon got close enough, he looked up and bore his teeth, kicking his brother's heels. "Go Damon, go! You don't need me! You always were the tougher brother. Take Elena and go!"

Damon felt the tears run down his face and he refused to leave. Tyler was howling outside and thankfully it drowned out the noise of Stefan's shouts.  
"I can't leave you, not now…"  
"You have to, you have no choice." Stefan sighed, turning away. Damon stuck out his chin, defiantly and glared at his brother.  
"Oh, I have a choice alright! I make the rules, Stefan – _me_." And with that he cut through the ropes holding his brother in place and flung him over his shoulder, carrying him and Elena out of the room.

"I'm going back in." Damon announced, handing Elena and Stefan over to Bonnie. Stefan was still trying to argue with Damon, hissing as quiet as he could so Klaus didn't hear. Bonnie gasped when she saw Elena and pulled the girl onto her lap, tears flowing down her cheeks as she brushed the girls hair and hugged her tight.

Damon walked back in the direction of the house, not looking back.

* * *

Neve looked up and frowned in the direction of the door.  
"The other brother," she murmured, standing in front of Meredith.  
"_W-What_?"

That instant, the door opened and Damon stepped in. Neve glared at the intruder, as did Damon – staring at the woman as if she had three heads.  
"Who are you?" he asked, fully aware that she was hiding Meredith from his view.  
Neve smiled and bowed, slightly. "Neve Armani. You must be Damon Salvatore." She replied, her gaze unblinking.  
"That's right. Now are you gonna let me walk out of here with that girl or are you going to make it very hard for me?" Damon asked, smoothly, flashing a smile that only Damon could produce.

Neve's eyes flashed and she bent in a fighting stance, balling her hands into fists. Purple fire blazed from her fingers and wrist and she smirked, evilly. "Only if you promise to keep her safe," she said, her muscles tensing. Meredith stood up and looked over Neve's shoulder to see the dark figure standing in the doorway, his black jeans and jacket complimenting his slick hair and dark eyes.  
Damon nodded and beckoned to Meredith. "I promise. So long as you keep Klaus busy, I won't do anything I shouldn't." he grinned. Meredith looked from Neve to Damon and decided that the vampire opposite her meant freedom. She took a step closer to Stefan's brother, her eyes never leaving her grandmother's face.

Neve had tears in her eyes and she smiled at Meredith, relaxing her body. "Then I cannot object. Forgive me… _Meredith_." She whispered, no longer addressing her by 'child' any longer.  
"Goodbye, grandma." Meredith replied, still calm even in this situation. Damon was taken aback by this response but said nothing, just watched intently as the two parted. Neve opened her mouth to cry out in sadness but she clenched her fists and frowned, her face growing pink with withheld grief. The next instant she ran out the backdoor, arms flailing as she ran in the direction of Klaus.

"Let's go," Damon murmured, pulling Meredith out and directing for Caroline to follow. She'd been standing in the hallway, waiting, and the three ran outside into the night.

* * *

They ran down the hill until they were near the car when suddenly Meredith turned back and stopped. "Oh no…" she whispered, shaking in fear. "_Grandma_!"  
"Neve? What do you think -?" Klaus breathed, watching his wife pounce upon him, trying to sink her teeth into his neck. "No!" he howled, furious, trying to pull the woman off of him. Neve clung on tighter and only let the thought of killing Klaus run through her mind.

Shouts of: "No! Grandma!" and "Meredith, no!" echoed around the lot, making Tyler howl in pain as he span about, furiously. He spotted Damon, Meredith and Caroline near the foot of the hill and grinned, running down to greet them. He was a lot faster now that he was in his werewolf form once again.

Caroline shrieked and ran towards the car. Damon cried out, furiously, and let go of Meredith's hand as the girl scrambled up the hill. The next few moments were a blur. There was a scream as Meredith reached the front garden only to see Neve shot twenty feet in the air by a lightning bolt from her own husband.  
"No!" Meredith sobbed, yelling up into the sky, watching her grandmother fall to the floor with a thud. Klaus was laughing, maniacally, and the sky rumbled with thunder. "Traitor!" he cried over the noise of the weather, his hair spiking up all over his head. He turned to Meredith and smiled, before looking back at Neve.  
He clicked his fingers and a stake appeared in his hand. For those horrible moments, Meredith just stood and watched as her grandfather plunged the weapon into his wife's chest, frowning, now.

"I loved you, Neve, and this is how you repay me?" Klaus hissed, slapping the woman across the face as the stake drained her life away. Neve spluttered a few threats, her black hair blowing wildly in the wind. As her face began to pale and her hands reached up to stroke Klaus' face, she smiled and whispered her last words.  
"I did it for our granddaughter." Her eyes shut and Klaus stood up, watching the blood form in puddles about the woman he'd fallen in love with all those centuries ago. He looked up at the sky and Meredith covered her ears as Klaus screamed.

Tyler collapsed before Damon as soon as Klaus had cried out. Werewolf ears were sensitive and couldn't withstand sounds at such a high pitch. Damon yelled out in pain and covered his ears, dropping down to the floor and burying his head in the grass. Caroline was locked in the car and the three conscious people, dropped their heads and slammed their eyes shut, blocking out the sound with their fingers in their ears.

Klaus stomped over to Meredith and plucked her from the floor. He looked her up and down and slapped her across the face. "If you are my granddaughter then you are going to do everything I say!" he cried, grabbing her by the wrists and pulling her in the direction of the house.  
Damon looked up and his mouth dropped open. "No…" he gasped, and started following Klaus.  
"Stay away Salvatore – this is nothing to do with you!" Klaus growled, pulling an unwilling Meredith behind him. The girl who was normally so calm and collected was hysterical, trying to tear away from the vampire's grasp.

"I can't do that until you let her go, Klaus!" Damon replied, desperately running to try and catch up with him.  
Klaus turned, snapping around so fast that he dropped Meredith on the floor. As soon as she was free she ran away, sprinting as fast as she could down the hill to the car parked outside the Salvatore gates. Klaus growled, inhumanly, and sent a bolt of lightning directly into Damon's chest.  
"NO!" Bonnie screamed from the car, yanking the door open and running outside, her hands twining around the wires of the large gates, reaching out desperately in the direction of Damon.

Damon shut his eyes to avoid being blinded and the lightning struck him right by his heart, spasms erupting up and down his body. He looked at Klaus, only to find he'd disappeared, and without moving the top half of his body so much, he turned to see the grieving Druid clawing at the gates, trying to get through to him. Meredith passed her and she didn't even seem to realise.

Damon smiled and held his palm out to her, his head twitching as the electricity ran through his body. His top half was twitching every which way and his eyes danced in the moonlight. He was just close enough for Bonnie to see and to hear him say his last words.  
"I love you Bonnie," Damon cried out, happily, before dropping dead to the floor.


	5. Talking To The Dead

**The Aftershock**  
**(Summer Solstice)  
****5**

Okay, I will say this. I know I killed Damon off and I'm sorry okay? But it's dramatic! And as Bonnie would say – romantic. I bet she loved it (secretly). I hope you can forgive me. Where there is a long extract in italic – that is also an extract from the VD: 4, TR. It is the Ouija board thingy. I've just changed it slightly so it fits this situation. If anybody has rest The Visitor, by Pike I think it is then you'll understand why I did that – it's kind of like where peoples roles are reversed. Hope you like this!

**Talking To The Dead**

Bonnie bent down next to Damon. The charge had worn off and he was no longer twitching like earlier. His eyes were staring at her, unblinking, and he had a smile on his face that made Bonnie smile back.  
"I love you too," she whispered, bending down to kiss him on the lips. She prayed that there was still some electricity left in his body to kill her too. She really didn't know how she could move on without him. "I'll love you till the end of time," sadly, she pulled away. She guessed she had to survive in this cruel world without him. Damon was too strong to let anything happen to her, and it wasn't fair that he was gone.

Stefan crawled up to them, the sides of his mouth jerking as he trembled. "No…" he breathed, sucking in a deep breath. Bonnie shut Damon's eyes and turned away, standing up and walking back to the car – leaving Stefan alone with his brother.  
"No," Stefan repeated, his breath catching in his throat as he let out a sob. He felt the sick rising in his throat as he looked down at his older brother, charred and smoking from the shock. It was just like last time… except he'd survived it then.  
"No…" Stefan bent his head and cried, burying his face in his brother's shirt, absolutely traumatised. How could anything this bad happen? How? Maybe Matt had been right… what was the point? If the world is so evil then what's the point in fighting it if someone's always going to die?  
"Damon," Stefan whispered.

* * *

"_I still can't believe he's gone," Caroline said quietly, shaking her head and shutting her eyes. "He was so much more alive than other people."  
_"_His flame burned brighter," said Meredith. Her voice was soft but intense, and it seemed to Bonnie that those words described Damon better than anything she'd ever heard.  
_"_There were times when I hated him, but I could never ignore him," Matt admitted, his blue eyes narrowed in memory. "He wasn't a person you could ignore." _

"_I still can't believe he's really gone." Caroline repeated. "Sometimes I feel as if he's somewhere near."  
_"_Oh, so do I," said Bonnie, distracted. The others gazed at her silently. _

_At last Caroline said hesitantly, with the faintest catch in her voice, "Do you think… do you think you could contact him?" It was what they'd all been wondering. Bonnie looked towards Meredith. She met Bonnie's eyes seriously.  
_"_I don't know," Bonnie said slowly. "I don't want to go into a trance and open myself up to whatever else might be out there, that's for sure."  
_"_Is that the only way to communicate with dead people? What about a Ouija board or something? My parents have a Ouija board," Caroline said a little too loudly. Suddenly the hushed, low-key mood was broken and an indefinable tension filled the air. Everyone sat up straighter and looked at each other with speculation. _

"_Would it work?" Meredith said to Bonnie.  
_"_Should we?" Caroline wondered aloud.  
_"_Do we dare? That's really the question," Meredith said. Once again Bonnie found everyone looking at her. She hesitated a final instant, and then shrugged. Excitement was stirring in her stomach.  
_"_Why not?" she said. "What have we got to lose?"  
__Caroline turned to Matt. "Matt, there's a closet at the bottom of the stairs. The Ouija board should be inside, on the top shelf with a bunch of other games." Matt was already out of the door before Bonnie had opened her mouth to object._

_When they were all gathered around the coffee table, with several lights turned off for effect, Bonnie put her fingers lightly on the small plastic planchette. She'd only ever used the Ouija board once – when contacting Elena. It made it eerie to think that Elena was actually alive out there somewhere. _

"_We all have to be touching it, Matt this is new to you – so…"  
_"_Whatever," and Bonnie watched as he obeyed. She looked down at their hands on the piece of plastic. Meredith's fingers were long and slender and Caroline's nails were painted burnished copper._

"_Now we close our eyes and concentrate," Bonnie said softly. There were little hisses of anticipation as the others obeyed; the atmosphere was getting to all of them.  
_"_Think of Damon. Picture him. If he's out there, we want to draw him here." The big room was silent. In the dark behind her closed lids Bonnie saw dark straight hair with rainbows shining in the strands and eyes as dark as the night sky. "Come on, Damon," she whispered. "Talk to me." _

_The planchette began to move. None of them could be guiding it; they were all applying pressure from different points. Nevertheless, the little triangle of plastic was sliding smoothly, confidently. Bonnie kept her eyes shut until it stopped and then looked. The planchette was pointing to the word _**Yes  
**_Matt gave something like a soft sob. Bonnie looked at the others. Caroline was breathing fast, green eyes narrowed. Meredith looked pale. They all expected her to know what to do. _

"_Keep concentrating," Bonnie told them. She felt unready and a little stupid addressing the empty air directly. But she was the expert; she had to do it. "Is that you, Damon?" she said.  
__The planchette made a little circle and returned to _**Yes**_. Suddenly Bonnie's heart was beating so hard she was afraid it would shake her fingers. The plastic underneath her fingers felt different, electrified almost, as if some supernatural energy was flowing through it. She no longer felt stupid. Tears came to her eyes, and she could see Matt's eyes were glistening too. Meredith nodded at her. _

"_How can we be sure?" Matt was saying, loudly, suspiciously – wiping his tears. Matt doesn't feel it after all, Bonnie realised; he doesn't sense anything I do. Physically speaking, he's an unbeliever. "Say something only Damon would know," _

_The planchette was moving again, touching letters now, so quickly that Meredith barely had time to spell out the message. Even without punctuation it was clear. _

**I TOLD YOU I ONLY KILLED TANNER BECAUSE HE HURT ME FIRST REMEMBER**_ it said._

"_That's Damon, all right," Meredith said dryly.  
_"_Damon, I'm just so glad…" Bonnie's throat locked up and she tried again. _

**BONNIE STOP SNIVELLING** _there was a pause, then it read:_ **DONT BE STUPID JUST GET ON WITH IT**

_And that was Damon too. Bonnie sniffed and went on. "I had a dream about you last night." The others looked up at her in surprise and stared at her as if she had three heads. Suddenly everything seemed like déjà vu, and reminded them (all except Matt) of the time they'd called Elena. Why hadn't Bonnie said about this dream? Meredith glanced up and saw her friend was blushing. _

**THE DAY AFTER THE SUMMER SOLSTICE IN YOUR ROOM **

"_Yes." Bonnie replied, giggling. It wasn't exactly a dream – just a memory being replayed as she slept. Her heart was thudding faster than ever. "I miss you Damon, I – I love you…" _

**I LOVE YOU TOO**

_Matt sniggered and suddenly the planchette nearly tore out of his grasp. _

**DONT LAUGH AT ME MATT OR ILL MAKE YOUR LIFE HELL**

_The plastic span about furiously. Matt gulped and regained composure, staring silently at the board.  
__Bonnie took a deep breath. "Damon, do you remember the last time? W-When we talked to Elena on this thing and then you and Stefan came?" _

**Yes**

"_There's no danger anymore is there? I mean, Klaus that is."  
__There was a pause before the board started spelling out something else. _

**TYLERS A PUSH OVER HELL NEVER HURT YOU ANYMORE KLAUS IS DEAD**

"_Dead? But he killed you and then…" _

**HE KILLED HIMSELF TOO THERES NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT ANYMORE**

"_Damon?"_

**Yes**

"_Can't you do what Elena did? You know – come back to life?"_

**MAYBE**

"_Then we can be together and –"_

**BONNIE NO IM DEAD I SHOULDNT HAVE SAID OTHERWISE**

"_But…"_

**NO BUTS BONNIE IVE WANTED TO BE DEAD FOR A LONG TIME ITS HARD BEING A VAMPIRE I LIKE IT HERE ITS WHAT IVE ALWAYS WANTED**

"_Damon!" Bonnie let out a heart-wrenching cry, tears falling down her cheeks. She looked around and saw the others were crying too, Matt was almost as bad as her._

**IM SORRY BONNIE I DO LOVE YOU AND YOU GUYS ARE ALL MY FRIENDS BUT I DONT WANT TO BE ALIVE ANYMORE IVE SEEN SO MANY CENTURIES UNDERSTAND THAT**

"_You wouldn't even give it up for Bonnie? If you truly love her Damon then you would stay with her!" Matt cried, furiously. "Damon, listen, you ditched us once before, remember? The night of the Solstice? Don't make the same mistake again, please!"  
__There was a pause before Damon replied. Bonnie could almost imagine him sigh as he used the letters on the board to reply._

**YOURE RIGHT ELENA HAS ONLY SOME OF HER POWERS LEFT BUT SHE DOESNT KNOW IT SHE NEEDS TO BE HERE AND**

"_Great! We'll do the summoning spell and…"_

**YOU NEED HAIR AND BLOOD BONNIE REMEMBER MAYBE YOUD BETTER SUMMON STEFAN AND GET HIM TO BRING HER**

_Bonnie nodded. She still had Damon's blood on that __tissue upstairs and maybe if she went to the boarding house then…  
_"_Wait! Tyler's car! When he came back and they put him in that mental hospital he left his car with Dick! There's bound to be some of Stefan's hair in the trunk!" Caroline cried.  
_"_W-What?" Bonnie stammered. _

"_Remember when we came back from Florence, Tyler was sent to the mental hospital after Alaric's approval. Tyler gave his car to Dick, who keeps it locked up in his garage for when Tyler gets out (which he won't). Don't you see? When Tyler captured us he put us in the back seat and Stefan in the trunk so then maybe…"  
_"_Of course!" Matt cried._

**LOOK THATS ALL IM SAYING**

_Bonnie looked down at the board with tears in her eyes. "I love you Damon, see you soon!" she laughed, happily._

**SEE YOU SOON BONNIE**

* * *

Bonnie grabbed the tissue from upstairs, picking it out from her chest at the end of her bed. She flung on her coat as the others scrambled outside, heading for Dick's house, excitedly.

It was late when they got there, the sun had only just been setting when they'd left Caroline's house, and now it was pitch black. They hadn't realised how fast time had gone, and when they arrived Matt clambered the drain pipe and stuck his face up to Dick's bedroom window.  
"He's asleep!" he hissed, climbing back down to them. Caroline nodded and punched the button on the right hand side of the garage door and it slid upwards slowly, revealing Tyler's car. Fortunately, the trunk was facing them, and Matt walked up to it and opened it up. Meredith handed over a torch she'd absentmindedly picked up, and Matt shone it inside.  
The black lining shone out clearly and there were some hairs, not a lot, but some. Matt picked them up carefully and dropped them in Bonnie's tissue. He shut the trunk and stepped backwards and Caroline locked the garage up. All four were quiet – waiting to hear whether the family were stirring inside.

Neither asked one another why Dick would be asleep at this time - just because he was eighteen didn't mean he necessarily had to stay awake till late. Because it was summer, days were longer and it only darkened at around nine or ten o'clock. Dick's parents were up, but thankfully neither his mum or dad heard.  
"That's it then! Let's get out of here!" Matt whispered, and they made their way back to Bonnie's house.

* * *

"_Swift on the heel thou comest,  
__Thrice summoned by my spell,  
__Thrice troubled by my burning,  
__Come to me without delay._" Bonnie read aloud three times. Matt frowned and looked about the room impatiently. Caroline nudged him. If his mind wandered then they'd never bring Stefan _or_ Elena back. But Matt couldn't help thinking that Druid's loved threes. Everything went in threes.

The four concentrated while Bonnie performed the spell and with baited breath, they waited for the candle to melt down to the pin.

* * *

"Stefan are you okay? You've been acting strange ever since-" Elena began, putting her hand on Stefan's shoulder. He bowed his head and turned away, sighing.  
"I miss Damon, that's all." He shrugged, walking up to the window. Elena nodded and looked around. She wondered for the hundredth time why Stefan bothered to stay here. So much pain had happened here. Katherine had 'died' here, Stefan and Damon both had died - Damon twice. Why did Stefan still refuse to leave? Why?

"Me and Damon stood at this window. I think it was only a few weeks ago… h-he told me that I should 'relax and join the winning side' but then twice he got me out of trouble. He was good, Elena, he tried to be evil but he really wasn't. He was my brother and now… and now he's gone." Stefan's voice broke and bowed his head and even then, even when he felt so sick and tired of feeling like this he couldn't cry, couldn't even form one measly tear.

Suddenly he froze and he recognised the feeling that was sweeping over him. It brought back even more memories – of the day where Damon was at the window peeling an orange and teasing Stefan at how he'd got Rachael, the student. How Stefan had immediately got through to Bonnie's thoughts and Damon had stared at him as if he were an alien. Stefan had been talking to himself right in front of him, talking both aloud and in his mind.  
Bonnie was on the other end and she was talking excitedly.

_Finally! Stefan don't talk it's important. Damon told me to get you, for you to bring Elena…  
__Damon? But Damon's –  
__I know, I know! But Stefan he can come back, like Elena-_

The link that had held the two cemented together even across the miles of ocean faded. Stefan blinked and looked up at Elena, his mouth wide open, his body shaking.  
"What is it?" Elena asked, latched onto his side, immediately. Stefan suddenly found the words in his throat and he looked up at Elena, his green eyes widened in hope.  
"It's Damon… I- Elena pack your bags." Stefan smiled, hugging her encouragingly. "We're going back to Fells Church."

* * *

"Did you talk to Stefan?" Matt asked excitedly. Bonnie nodded and sat up, smiling triumphantly.  
"Did you tell him to bring Elena?" Meredith asked. Bonnie nodded again and did a pirouette. Caroline frowned. "But how do we know he's coming?"  
"Did you mention Damon?" Matt narrowed his eyes at the dancing girl.  
"Of course I did!" she shrieked, happily. Matt shrugged. "Then he's coming," 


	6. Waking The Dead

**The Aftershock  
****(Summer Solstice)  
****6**

**Waking The Dead**

Elena stood in the clearing, looking around and thinking about how sacred the Francher place actually was. Here, only around a week ago, Stefan had almost died – Damon too. Klaus had been swept away by the spirits and she had been brought back to life, brought back to Stefan.  
If there were anything she could do to save Damon now, she'd do it. She no longer hated him – he'd saved their lives too many times. Damon wasn't evil; he was just a bit bad.

She held her arms out, just as Tyler had done when trying to bring Klaus back. It didn't make sense to find out that Klaus had died, if he'd died when killing Damon then why did he just disappear like that? And how could that have killed him anyway? It was as if it had all ended too soon. She'd thought that Klaus would've wanted to go out with a bang, not just _disappear_. The night of the Solstice? That had been a major exit, but poof and he's gone? It just didn't make sense!

"Damon…" she whispered, feeling the breeze against her face. It was cold but she pretended not to feel it. She tried to focus all her energy on one thing – to bring her brother-in-law back (or rather, _future_ brother-in-law). Stefan was at her side, holding his breath and looking around for his only surviving family, desperate. Bonnie was behind them, her fists clenched and tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

Stefan and Elena had arrived as soon as possible, but only Stefan believed that this would actually work – he was so upset that he was willing to believe anything, to pray for anything. Matt, Caroline and Meredith were standing in amongst the trees, fingers crossed. They may have been terrified of Damon once, but now they were all like one happy family.

Elena shut her eyes and thought of all the times Damon had been with them, of all the times he'd let them down but also the times he'd made up for it. Bonnie was behind and thought of the times they'd been so intimate… in her bedroom and the time they were locating Stefan. Stefan could only think about how his older brother had walked around the house looking completely lost, back in the Renaissance, and had always ended up in front of their mother's picture in the ballroom. Stefan had always pretended not to see Damon cry, because his brother would always be furious with him afterwards and would strike at him. But then, when they were little and Damon didn't understand how Mother had died, he'd hugged his little Stefan and told _him_ that everything would be okay, when it was him that was hurting.

"I… I can't feel him…" Elena sighed, feeling a headache coming on. She still left her mind open but she knew it was hopeless. Even if Damon did come back, he would be born a human again. Unlike Elena, who came back six months after being a vampire, who would have only aged slightly as a human, Damon would be over five hundred. He'd be dead if he were brought back to life. Unless…

A tall figure was standing by the farmhouse, silent as a mouse, staring at the group of teenagers as if they amused him. No one noticed him - they were too busy thinking. He couldn't help but laugh. He smiled, slightly, and his eyes flashed. No one had heard, nobody knew he was there.  
Slightly, slowly, Bonnie turned her face to the right and saw the boy standing by the collapsing building. He looked so calm and casual, eyes narrowed, a sneer across his face. He looked so suave… so exotic. The breath caught in Bonnie's throat and she walked forwards, terrified that if she got so close he'd disappear.  
He nodded at her, very slowly as if telling her it was all right and he understood. He stopped smiling and held a hand out to her, beckoning her to come closer.

Bonnie, still stood behind Elena and Stefan, frozen, watched her body walk. She blinked a couple of times, looked down at herself and found she was still cemented to the ground, unmoving. She tilted her head to the ghost looming in the shadows, and her soul walking over to him, arms outstretched. Elena and Stefan didn't se, didn't notice and Stefan was slowly giving up. His head was down and he was taking deep breaths, scolding himself for actually believing Damon was going to come back. Bonnie tried to open her mouth and say that he was there, that he was stood a little over to the right watching them, but her throat was locked up.

She watched her other self move over to Damon and wished with all her might that it were actually her (even though, scientifically it was her).

Bonnie stood up next to Damon and smiled. He smiled back and they locked their hands together, intertwining their fingers and weaving them together. "Damon," she sighed, resting her head on his chest. He stroked the side of her face and let out a deep breath.  
"Come with me…" he whispered, tilting her head up to his with his index finger. Bonnie looked up at him and they kissed, wrapping their arms around each other.

"Stefan, I'm sorry… I- Bonnie?" Elena turned around to see the smaller girl standing stock still, paralysed behind them. "Bonnie!" she screamed. The girl's face was pale and her lips were blue. She wasn't breathing. "Bonnie no!" Suddenly there was a great surge of bodies as everyone ran to Bonnie's side and they were shaking her, panicking. Slowly, she fell backwards and landed in Matt's arms.

Bonnie woke up in her other body, the one being held by Damon, and she stared up at him. "H-How?" she murmured, light headed and dizzy. Damon kissed her forehead and held onto her wrist, making her follow him as he led her out into the clearing, in full view of the others.

"_Bonnie_? Oh Bonnie, please! Please, wake up!" The others were screeching, even Stefan was crying out at the top of his lungs.

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked, feeling on a high. She felt so calm… just like Meredith… Damon shook his head. "Nothing," he replied. Suddenly the two of them starting shining with a golden light and it ebbed and flowed about them like they were caught in a whirlpool of sun.  
"Damon…" Bonnie whispered, too relaxed to feel anything else but an overwhelming love. Damon's eyes swam before her, his face sympathetic and he hugged her close. "Don't be afraid," he told her. Bonnie swooned in his arms and she noticed that five faces were facing in their direction, eyes wide with tears rolling down their cheeks.

They didn't speak, they were too sad, too lost, to say anything. All they could see was the couple glowing as if they were in the middle of a sandstorm, and they held on to each other. It was Stefan who crawled forward on his hands and knees, trying to reach out for his brother. "Don't go…" he whispered, his voice high-pitched and squeaky. He was so scared to lose Damon again, terrified of losing Bonnie too.

Damon looked at his brother, looked around at them all, and simultaneously the vampire and the witch smiled. "I love you… all of you," and their heads snapped to look at each other in surprise. Bonnie just smiled and it took Damon a second to calm down again. Stefan let out a sob and held his head in his hands.

"Ready?" Damon asked, tightening his grip around Bonnie's waist. The younger girl nodded and looked at her friends for one last time. "Goodbye guys," she waved. A power that came from the heavens, shot downwards in a great chasm of electricity and sparked around them, pulling the two upwards – towards heaven.

The others waved and watched the two disappear into the sky, crying with both grief and happiness. At least they were together… Soon the two were just golden spots of light in the sky, which turned out to be two new stars that had formed in the sky. Elena sighed and looked down to find Bonnie's body was gone. She wasn't surprised, even though she had no idea where it was.

"Do you think they went to the same place?" Meredith asked, Caroline hugging onto her. Stefan stood up and looked up at the sky, smiling, his hands in his pockets. "I think so. After all, Bonnie is a witch… and a vampire. Right, Meredith?"  
Elena's mouth dropped open but Meredith nodded. "It's true. Somewhere along the lines of my family, Bonnie's family tree crossed with mine. She's a distant cousin of mine, meaning she has some vampire blood in her – not a lot, but still."  
"But I thought you said that after so many years, the blood would drain away…" Elena began, staring at Stefan, confused. Stefan smiled and sat down next to his girlfriend, brushing her hair through with his fingers.  
"Damon and Bonnie exchanged blood,"  
"And do you remember the day we made the blood swear? When Bonnie and I promised to do anything in connection with Stefan? Our blood mixed and some of my blood flowed into her." Elena blushed slightly at the mention of the swear they'd made, but Stefan didn't seem to notice.

"I've never seen my brother look so happy," Stefan smiled. Elena nodded and hugged him tightly. "We'll see them again," he nodded, as if it were a definite promise. "Soon…"  
Elena fidgeted happily in her arms, getting into a comfier position. Matt was the next to speak. He looked up at the two new stars in the sky, the ones burning the brightest and made a silent wish. Afterwards, he sat up and looked around at everyone, grinning like a maniac. "What's more, Damon wasn't evil – and that was proof."  
"What was proof?" Caroline asked, confused. _No imagination_, thought Meredith. Stefan nodded, happily. "Because he went to heaven,"  
"Oh," and the five friends sat there for about an hour, just staring up at the sky and thinking about what a perfect couple Damon and Bonnie were.

* * *

I've finished it! Yes! I know that was a really horrible chapter but remember what Bonnie said? _I want to die young and beautiful in my coffin?_ She got her wish! I know this is really, really mean but I wanted a story on here that made me cry – because VD always made me cry. VD 4, TR, made me cry so much – especially when Damon said '_Get away from my brother'_and when Stefan cried out _Elena_. I ended up beaming at the end, so this one is kind of the same – you have to end up smiling. (Well, I hope you do)! R & R! I want reviews otherwise I'll never write another VD story again! LOL just kidding, but everyone loves reviews. Hope you liked this! Bye! 


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